Dazzled Brushes

Chapters

Chapter the First
Chapter the Second
Chapter the Third
Chapter the Fourth
Chapter the Fifth

Chapter the First

Ah, long hot showers. A luxury worthy of the gods.

It's been a looong day, work and shopping and cleaning the house. Sweet Zombie Raptor Jesus, the cleaning. Life was much easier when it was just you. You never cared if you had to wade through an ocean of mess. But they do, these three girls. Why they're living with you still escapes you. Hell why they haven't been arrested or disappeared into a research lab also escapes you. But it /still/ hasn't happened to that bacon haired girl either, so it probably won't for these three. You are however very sure that it's a good thing the girls aren't actually high school aged. 4 shitty incomes are a lot better than 1. That alone makes cleaning worthwhile.
"Anon are you done in there?"

Aria's home? Wow you have been in here for ages.
"I'm getting out now, be less than a minute."

And you mean that too. Aria works as a mechanic. She loves cars and it's good money (actually the best money out of all four of you by a pretty big margin), but it's also long hours of hard, grimy work. Nobody in this house denies Aria shower access after work. Nobody. A rapid towel off later and you're out of the bathroom in less than 40 seconds.
"All yours, Aria. Do you want me to warm up your dinner?"

She gives you a tired smile.
"Yeah, thanks."

You leaver her to it. After a moment the water starts up again. Wrapped up in your warm pajamas and slippers you sit down to read a book. Sure it's not that late, but if you want to wear pajamas in your own home, then you are going to wear them. After a while you hear the water and fan turn off. You lever yourself off the chair and head into the kitchen to start up the microwave then return to your book. You glance up at the sound of footsteps. Aria comes into the lounge room. She's wrapped up in a slightly too big dressing gown she nicked from you that she insists is hers. Her skin is still a little flushed from the hot water. She's also armed with a hairbrush. Sinking into the couch she starts to slowly work at her long tresses. When the microwave goes off it doesn't look like she's going to be able to get up.
"I'll get it."

As you come back into the room you hear Aria softly grunt in a mix of irritation and pain. A bunch of hair has gotten knotted and isn't coming undone. You slide the gently steaming bowl onto the coffee table in front of her and present one open hand, palm up.
"Give me the brush and you get to eating."

She gives you an 'No. 3 Aria Look, TM'. The 'This is a new level of stupid from you.' look. You just twitch the fingers of your open hand at the hair brush. With an eye roll she hands off the brush and grabs her dinner. Food begins to disappear rapidly. You start at the bottom and slowly work your way up. Sure she already did the lower areas but her hair is like liquid silk. You take your time making sure not to let any knots form as her hair dries. With so much hair to brush you're only two thirds done by the time Aria finishes devouring her food.
"Hold up a sec"

Rather than the expected request for the return of the brush, Aria shifts her green and purple locks to one side and leans back against you. Even with only the upper portions remaining it's awkward brushing like this, still you're not complaining. Soon enough it's done. You place the brush next to the now empty bowl.
"All done, Aria."

The only response is slow, soft breathing. She actually dozed off on top of you. If she's really that tired, you shouldn't wake her. Reaching as best you can, you grab the quilt off on the couch and wrap it around you both. Aria shifts herself further backwards giving you a face full of vaguely fruity smelling hair. It might just be the aftermath of the shower but Aria is seriously warm. Deciding to let her nap, you settle yourself. If you need it your book is within arms reach. But for the moment you just close your eyes.

You feel so warm. A little stiff, but deliciously warm. And a little weighed down. You hear footsteps and try to open your eyes. Oh, that's bright. With some blinking you focus your eyes and see Adagio standing in the kitchen doorway, smirking at you over a mug of coffee. She quietly slinks out before you can question her. Once she's gone though, you can see sunlight coming through the kitchen door.
Oh.
Then something very warm and weighty shifts on top of you.
Oh.
Well that explains the smirk. Your back twinges and you flex a little to alleviate it. The slight movement is enough to disturb Aria and she starts to open her eyes. With slow blinks she focuses in on you. A furious blush races across her face and she whips her face around, away from yours.
"...do..do you want to get up?"
"...no."

With a grin Aria can't see you slide your arms around her middle and gently hug her. Aria actually squeaks and tenses up when you move but then relaxes back against you.
It's a long time before either of you get up.

Author's Note

This was originally going to be all there was, but then I went and got inspired. :pinkiecrazy:
Pastebin for original formatting: http://pastebin.com/3ZfL87J1

Chapter the Second

It's been three days since Aria feel asleep on you.

Three whole days and no one has mentioned it. Not even for some good natured ribbing. Which is really strange in this household. When the girls first invaded your home, you noticed that they tended to trade insults and jibes freely amongst each other. But they always watched their words around you, or even when they thought you might hear. Always trying to stay polite, like the slightest misstep would have dire consequences. You originally thought they might actually be that callous and dismissive, while not wanting to risk being kicked out. But watching them it quickly became apparent that it wasn't genuine malice, but rather the total ease of a long, stable relationship. You've never been able to figure out just how old they are, but you get the feeling these girls have been together for a looooong time. Realising that them being uncertain about where you stood with them was the root of the issue, you had made a bigger effort to integrate with the girls. Once you started joining in the the verbal sparring things relaxed a whole lot. And none of the girls has even tried to take a dig over the living pillow incident.

Which makes no sense! In the world of verbal jousting, new material must be constantly supplied to support the classic fallbacks. WHY has such a prime incident been left untouched? It's unsettlingly out of character and disappointing too. How are you supposed to use all these great comebacks if they don't bring it up? You'll just have to hope you remember them. You put a lot (very little) of effort into these burns, it'd be a shame for them to go unused. Still there's nothing you can do about it.

Might as well get on with the very important business of bumming around the house. Being that Aria is the only one with a full time position the rest of you have been varying degrees of unproductive today. Adagio has been doing something on the back porch. Judging by the hardware she brought home yesterday, you figure she's been hanging up that hammock she's had lying around for ages. Ye gods you hope those noises have been from hanging a hammock up. You're slightly afraid of getting confirmation either way. You don't know where Sonata has been. Scratch that, apart from a note saying she'd be back late you have no idea where she is now. She does this sometimes. Leaves a note and disappear for most of a day, only to appear dishevelled and tired around dinner time. Actually scratch the scratching, here she is now. There are twigs in her hair. You're not going to ask.

You are. Not. Going. To. ASK.

In this household we do not ask Sonata where she has been and what she did. That way madness lies. She walks past with a wave that you return with a smile. There is a whole, thick branch in her ponytail. It looks for all the world like a freeze frame of a giant blue squid battling a drab brown whale. You open your mouth...

NO ANON! DON'T DO IT! IT'S NOT WORTH IT!

Your mouth shuts with a click. That was too close. The front door is opened again. Leaning over the edge of the couch, (because who stands up? Certainly not you.) you catch a glimpse of purple hair in the hallways. Aria's gotten home early.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"How was work?"
"Slow day. Boss let me off early. Said it was thanks for busting my ass last week."

Ah, that's good. You were worried there for a moment. With a shrug Aria heads off to claim the shower. Normally you'd have something prepared but with Aria home so early you haven't even started. Luckily dinner tonight is just leftovers from yesterday. Settling back down with your book you end up so engrossed that you miss the end of Aria's shower and her subsequent exploration of the refrigerator. What you don't manage miss is her sitting down next to you as she puts a gently steaming plate on the coffee table. She then proffers you her hairbrush. You stare dumbly at the tool for a short eternity, then glance up at her face. When you meet her gaze you /think/ she flushes a little before looking away.
"Just tell me if you don't want to."

Oh, right. You're kind of an idiot sometimes.
"Right, right, sorry."

You take the brush and get to work. It's pretty gratifying that she wants you to do it again and you can help but smile as you gently brush. Just like last time Aria has finished eating before you're done with her hair.
"All done."

She gently shifts her hair over her right shoulder before sitting back against the couch and leans left till her shoulder if resting on yours.
"Thanks. Anything interesting happened?"
"Dagi has, I think, hope, hung up that hammock of hers and Sonata did her disappearing thing. Came home just before you with a branch in her hair. Like an actual branch, thick as her arm, just jammed through her ponytail like it's supposed to be there."

You can feel Aria giggling silently next to you. After the giggles have stopped she wiggles on the couch for a moment. Then shifts herself so that her legs are resting against yours as well as the shoulder contact. You can feel her warmth through her, YOUR, bathrobe. It's nice, comfortable. Warm. You figure you'll stay that way for a while. But then you hear the shower stop, followed by the fan. A minute later Sonata appears in her pajamas, hair wood free but messy. Looking oddly apprehensive, she holds out a hairbrush.
"Anon, would you brush my hair too?"

Author's Note

I'd call it a cliffhanger, but it's more like a ledge sitter.
Pastebin: http://pastebin.com/MQp70HKu

Chapter the Third

When you first offered your services as a brusher of hair you were expecting jokes at your expense.

And now three days after there have been no jokes. Instead you gotten two requests in the same night. Almost makes you want to try waking up, just in case.
"Well I guess I can."

There is a shift in the couch. You spare a glance at Aria, only to double take. She's actually glaring at Sonata. While there have been plenty of frowns and grumpiness and a couple of arguments in the time the girls have been living here, you've never seen anything provoke that sort of a response. Although you're not actually 100% sure what is doing the provocation here. Aria notices your look, her eyes flicking to yours then straight back to Sonata. She then leans further, going from resting against you to actively pressing into your shoulder. Sonata herself is standing awkwardly quiet, left arm bent behind her back cupping her right elbow. You feel like you've wandered into a minefield without noticing til you'd gotten right into the middle. Best not to disturb the resting fire then.
"How about you pass me your brush then grab a pillow and sit in front of me?"

She gives a nod and does so, but the vaguely uneasy look stays on her face. Once Sonata is settled on a pillow you get to work, drawing her locks up onto the couch and starting in with the brush. As you do she gives a barely audible sigh and relaxes back against the couch. Aria stiffens at this. After a moment you feel an arm slide between the couch and your back, it's hand coming to rest on your left hip. With this hold Aria pulls herself right up to your side, to sit hip to hip with her shoulder behind your own. You pause in your work to look at her but she's keeping her head turned away from you. After a momentary indecision you return to brushing.

Sonata's hair is different to Aria's. Aria's hair is ruler straight, very thick and so silky it's like liquid to the touch. Sonata's tresses on the other hand while lovely and well cared for aren't quite as thick or as silky, something you put down to her adventures but will never confirm for sanities sake. Her hair also has a slight wave to it and tends to separate into locks in line with the different colour bands. If you had to guess on that oddity you'd probably go with something to do with how the follicles are arranged on her head. But who knows really? Not you.

It doesn't take you quite as long to finish as it does with Aria. You pop the brush onto the table for lack of any other ideas on what to do with yourself. At some point Sonata had slipped her arms around your legs without you noticing. She gives you a quick squeeze before getting up.
She gives you a subdued smile and a soft "Thanks Nonny" as she grabs her brush and leaves. You put your feet on the warm spot left on the pillow that's still on the floor. You take another sidelong look at Aria who is still looking away from you.
"You wanna tell me what that was?"
"...No."
"You going to get up?"
"...No."

That brings a smile to your face. You flat out do not understand this turn of events and are sure that it could turn bad if the air isn't cleared soon. But for now, you lift your now tired right arm over and around Aria, settling behind her, hand on her side.
For now, hugs are nice.

Author's Note

Suddenly, Drama!
I didn't see that one coming, not even when I left off at the ledgesitter last chapter.
Both chapters 2 and 3 where written on the same day, with about 7 hours between finishing 2 and starting 3.
This also marks the end of the already written material. There might be more, but absolutely no promises.
If you really want them >'s then here they are: http://pastebin.com/rzkRYSEX

Chapter the Fourth

It took a while, but you eventually extricated yourself from Aria's hug. Such a monumental task has surely never been accomplished since the days of myth. Several versions of a European demigod who was famous for doing a bunch of really hard things would totally fist bump you for overcoming this challenge.

You're going to have to ask about that inexplicable hostility from Aria. Tomorrow though. It's not worth opening up a that can so late in the day, might be a shitstorm in there.

Instead you wander towards the back of the house. Adagio was last seen heading that way with hammer, nails and a purpose. The noises and wild cursing kept you away before but it's been quiet for a while now. You really hope she hasn't destroyed the back verandah or something. Stepping out the back door into the growing chill of the evening you find yourself on the edge of a battlefield. Mass of huge nails are scattered about. Each is a massive spike of thick, sharp tipped metal. All are bent, twisted or broken. Surrounded by the greatest concentration of slain stilettos is a hammer, worn and scraped. Suspended between two of the wooden pillars supporting the roof above is Adagio. Turns out she really was trying to hang up that hammock.

With anyone else you'd have expect them to give up or ask for help after this much trouble. But not Adagio. Behind the charisma, the cunning and the knowing smirks is a stubborn streak that stretches beyond the horizons. It's not something that happens often, but if manipulations, clever ideas and all the tricks in the book (and some that aren't) fail, Adagio won't give up. Instead she just puts her head down and starts pushing until whatever's in her way collapses and crumbles. It's a little intimidating, but you do admire her for it.

Right now though none of that is showing. Asleep in the hammock, Adagio is wrapped in a blanket of her own hair. Ye gods that hair. But this isn't the time to start gushing like an idiot about that glorious mane of bouncing curls that catches the light and whoops you're doing it. You reach out and gently shake her shoulder.
"Adagio, wakey wakey Adagio."

She stirs and blinks slowly.
"What is it?"
"You've been asleep for a couple of hours and it's getting cold out."

She stretches and seems to be feeling the air.
"If you say so."
"I do. Come on, if you need sleep that bad you can get it in your own bed."

She gives an amused huff at that and goes inside. You head in to grab a broom. Best not to leave that sharp metal all spread out. The near mindless work gives you time to think. Why did Aria react so strongly to Sonata? They hadn't gotten into a fight over anything so it's not that. Sonata being meek was odd, but Aria would poke at a weak spot not get mad. Which means that unless you've missed something or are just totally misunderstanding the situation it was the asking that sparked it. And as comfortable as you are with these girls in your life, you can't help but remember that there's a lot of things that you don't know about them.

You just hope that you can get Aria to explain things without blowing up at you.

Author's Note

Just a little one this time.
Pastebin:
http://pastebin.com/r5LYeQDR

Chapter the Fifth

Nothing you can do this weirdness now. You figure you'll probably just go dick around on the internet for a while before bed.

... Rest for 8 Hours - 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1-1-1 ...

Aaaah, that was a good nights sleep. You stretch and get out of bad.Well that's not supposed to be the time. You've gone and overslept. Ooops.
You need to be out the door and on the way to work in less than 30 minutes. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. Hurricane Anonymous is in the building. Cursing yourself for forgetting to turn on your alarm you manage to get ready and leave in time. Running around like that is never fun. But you'd feel it's better to not be late. Getting into work on time you settle down and start on today's tasks. You're a part time maintenance worker at the local museum. It's not exactly a career builder but it is steady and more importantly not mind numbing work. And you don't have to deal with the public. Not like a retail job.
...
NEVER AGAIN. NEVER.
Ahem.

The day passes. Things get cleaned. Mercifully nothing important breaks. And then it's time to go home. You plan on using the time to work out how you're going to ask Aria. Hooo boy. It doesn't take too long to figure out your approach tactic. And that just leaves you stewing in your own nervousness. Will she get mad? Will she explain? Is there a bigger problem you can't see? Can you resolve this issue? Is she nearly home yet? Still an hour before her shift ends. Hurrrrrrrrrurururururururrrr.

Adagio walks past with an armful of ruined nails. Oh good, you'd not had time to clean that up in the rush this morning. Is Aria home yet? Still 58 minutes till her shift ends. You ponder trying to knock yourself out with a heavy object. Nah, not worth it. You'd probably just give yourself a concussion.

Eventually the front door opens. She's home. Off for her shower, time to plate up some food. And here she is, clad in your robe, hairbrush in hand. You trade the food for the brush and settle on the couch. You take your time, letting Aria finishing eating before you speak up.
"Aria, I've got a question for you that I'd really like answered. But if I'm overstepping a boundary or something just tell me and I'll let it go."
"Yeah, yeah, just ask."
"Yesterday when Sonata came in and you reacted so strongly, what was that?"

She slumps at this with a sigh then rubs her face with both hands.
"Ugh, damn. No way you could've known. Crap how do I explain this? Uhhh..."

You keep quiet and keep brushing, giving her time to think.
"Alright I'll explain this, but you gotta promise to listen to the whole explanation and not freak out."
"Alright, I promise to hear you out and not flip my shit until after you're done."

She relaxes a little at that.
"Sooo, you remember what went down last year at the Battle of the Bands?"
"Magical transformations, singing attacks, giant lazer horse? Yeah I remember."
"So you remember the things we summoned to fight the Rainbooms with? That's what we actually look like."
"You three are hippocampi?"
"What?" She looks thoroughly perplexed.
"Fish/horse hybrids."
"Uh well we sorta are that." She shrugs. "But we're called Sirens."
"Ahmm." Mixing the mythology a bit there.
"So even though we look human, we're not really. And all our instincts are different."

This is definitely not the explanation you were expecting.
"So those images of what we look like that you saw, well, we're not actually the huge, but we're still pretty big. And we're not the most flexible people ever, so it can be pretty much impossible to reach everywhere on your own."

Okay you might know where this is going now.
"Which means proper grooming requires help. But to have someone else grooming you is a big deal. You've gotta trust them. Trust them enough to expose yourself. So normally that's something that your parents do right? But when you get older you've gotta choose at someone to trust with that. It's a private thing. Even in these bodies we've always done it ourselves."

Oh shit this is suddenly a very big deal. Well she hasn't tried to kill you yet, so you might be okay.
"And to have someone, even someone you know, intrude on that...I guess it'd be like if someone just burst into the bathroom while you were showering without warning?"

Anon, your hands are in her hair. Do not freak out. You promised you wouldn't. Wait...
"Sonata would know all this too, right? So why would she do that?"
"Ugh, I dunno. I guess the idiot trusts you." Hmm. But you weren't the only one in the room, were you?
"Aria, I think you own Sonata an apology."
"What? Why?!"
"Well you were sitting right there next to me when she asked, so doesn't that mean she trusts you too?"

Face meets palm with a loud slap.
"That idiot."
"Well let's finish your hair and then we can go apologise." Aria gives you the No. 3 look again.
"I'm kinda surprised that you're not freaking out."
"I promised I wouldn't right? I assure you that on the inside I'm going nuts over the implications of all this, especially my own actions, but for now I don't feel that flailing and screaming would help."

Aria gives a snort and leans back on you. You resign yourself to working your arms at odd angles to get this done. Again.

Author's Note

I knew I wanted there to be come kind of explanation when I started on Chp4, which I wrote in the early ~~morning~~ afternoon, then this chapter that evening. But at that point I didn't know it'd spin out in this way. With this being the first time there's been any extended dialog I made an extra effort to try and keep Aria IC, not sure how well it works from a reader's perspective though.
Pastebin:
http://pastebin.com/eU7FsXGD